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Apple working on the iWatch?

Apple is developing a wristwatch device made of curved glass, according to reports.

The New York Times was tipped off about the plans from an anonymous source close to the company, while the Wall Street Journal reports that Apple has held discussions with manufacturing partner Foxconn over such a device.

Details of the device are in the range of sketchy to non-existent, and Apple traditionally refuses to talk about upcoming devices until they are unveiled at its own keynote speech.

However, the New York Times notes that Corning, the manufacturer of the Gorilla Glass used in iPhone and iPad devices, last year announced that it had created a bendable glass called Willow Glass. Video demonstrations show the glass - which is only a tenth of a millimetre thick - being flexed back and forth like a sheet of paper.

The iWatch would run on a customised version of iOS and could be capable of making mobile payments using Apple's Passbook system. Apple's Siri voice assistant would also be a natural fit for such a device.

It's not the first time Apple has tinkered with the watch concept. The seventh generation iPod nano could be used a watch, with several third-party manufacturers developing straps for the device.

Apple's share price has taken a huge tumble over the past six months, falling from a September high of $700 to $475 today, as the market waits for the next major move from the world's biggest tech company. The company has long been rumoured to be working on a television set, although Steve Jobs reportedly told a New York Times reporter that he wanted to develop a car.

However, if we were to believe everything Steve Jobs allegedly told reporters just before he died, Apple would have a more varied stock cupboard than Harrods.

I can't really se what an iWatch would do, except as an adjunct to the iPhone, and even then I'm trying hard to justify it... I await further enlightenment from those with more imagination.My immediate doubts centre on the suggested voice interaction via Siri, or 'phone. Either of these would require wearing either wired 'phones\mic - very retro and not really practicable, or a 'Cabbie' Bluetooth earpiece - VERY uncool.... I suppose a 'secret squirrel' mode, of holding one's wrist to mouth\ear is also available.That risks being either targeted by passing AlQuieda operatives, or inducing uncontrollable laughter in passers-by.As is hinted, other tech publications are unkindly suggesting its a desperate reaction to the tumbling share price.....